Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra kicks off Music Worcester season

Sunday

Oct 21, 2012 at 11:00 AMOct 21, 2012 at 1:42 PM

By Jonathan Blumhofer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE REVIEWER

Music Worcester opened its 153rd season in style on Friday night with a performance by the visiting Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and its general and artistic director, Antoni Wit. Pianist Yulianna Avdeeva, winner of the 2010 Chopin Competition, joined the ensemble for a Slavic-themed program composed of pieces by Lutoslawski, Chopin and Dvorak.

After beginning with the American and Polish national anthems, the concert started in earnest with music by the great 20th-century Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski, whose 100th birthday will be observed next year. Lutoslawski's career can be nicely divided into two halves: the first heavily influenced by Polish and other Eastern European folk musics, while the second was far more experimental in character.

The Little Suite that opened Friday's concert dates from the former period and is reminiscent of similar folk-inspired pieces by Bartók and Ligeti. Its four movements feature some delightfully original reharmonizations of Polish folk tunes, and Lutoslawski's orchestrations are characteristically colorful.

The WPO, playing with obvious pride and a sense of occasion, dispatched the Suite vigorously, taking a little time to linger over the bittersweet third movement, but never indulging in sentimental excess.

The performance of the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 that followed, though, might have benefited from a bit more of such excess, especially in its outer movements. Mr. Wit kept tempos on the brisk side, which certainly kept the momentum from dragging, but this was a reading that might have been aided by more rhythmic flexibility from all parties involved.

As was expected, the 27-year-old Ms. Avdeeva proved herself a formidably accomplished pianist, technically, and there were moments on Friday when her interpretation of the concerto allowed a keen musical instinct to shine through.

She was at her best in the slow, middle movement, which in her hands balanced dreamy introspection and soulful lyricism in equal measure. And there were sections of the outer movements, too – especially in the slower episodes – in which she achieved a similar, satisfying result.

But the faster parts of the outer movements were characterized by a general aimlessness of musical purpose that kept this performance from really taking off. The great Chopin pianists – and, given time, Ms. Avdeeva may well join their ranks – make something meaningful of Chopin's busy keyboard writing in these and similar passages.

On Friday, the jumbles of notes were there (and confidently played, to be sure) but they lacked definition in the first movement and humor in the last. Nevertheless, she finished strongly and was rewarded with a hearty ovation; alas, no encores followed.

After intermission, Mr. Wit and the orchestra returned for a straightforward, exultant performance of Dvorak's Symphony No. 8. The Eighth is, arguably, Dvorak's sunniest mature symphony, filled with trademark tunes and lyrical gestures that could come from no other composer; its orchestration, too, is remarkably vibrant.

On Friday, Mr. Wit balanced Dvorak's lyrical and dramatic writing (sometimes both are one: the climax of the first movement transforms the tender opening melody into a gale worthy of Wagner's “Flying Dutchman”) in a satisfying way that felt not a little inevitable. While the second movement might have benefited from a more relaxed pace, the third lilted along, overflowing with charm.

In the finale, Dvorak wrote a movement that plays like a mini-Concerto for Orchestra, showcasing various sections and soloists in the orchestra. Friday's performance featured a dazzling account of the movement's flute solo by principal Krzysztof Malicki, as well as thrilling brass playing throughout.

Oddly, Mr. Wit held the orchestra back, tempo-wise, at a couple of junctures in this movement, resulting in a performance that felt, at times, a bit too nice and mannered; happily, the energy level picked up wildly for the mad dash to the finish.

Two encores followed: a humorous, heavy-footed account of Brahms's Hungarian Dance No. 5 and a rousing rendition of “The Stars and Stripes Forever” that gave the Boston Pops a run for their money.